The Doctor Is in

I meant to post this on Monday...or Tuesday...or yesterday, but it's been one of those weeks.  Let's just say that if you had visited my house yesterday afternoon, you would have found my child watching a full-length movie in the middle of day while I sat on the couch ordering everything that sounded remotely yummy from pizz*hut.com and stuffing my face with Dove chocolate.  Cuz that's how I roll when the dog rips open a bag of hot chocolate in the middle of the kitchen, and my nap-skipping child has a total meltdown on the living room floor (her nineteenth of the day) because I have to divert my attention from her for 47 seconds while I attempt to get chocolate powder out of my rug.

Try not to be jealous of my mad parenting skills.

Don't worry; this post gets happier.  A lot happier, actually.  Monday afternoon, Jeremy and I had an appointment with a pediatric hematologist to discuss Li'l Dude's health needs.  (If you're new to my blog, we are in the process of adopting two little boys from China.  Our younger son has a blood disorder called thalassemia.)  We scheduled this meeting to get a feel for this hematologist and to prepare our potential doctor (and us) for Li'l Dude's arrival in the fall.

I honestly didn't know what to expect going into this meeting.  I've gotten to "know" several moms of children with thalassemia online (because the internet is an amazing place).  Several of them have expressed concern over their doctor's familiarity with thalassemia and its treatment, as it's not very common here in the U.S.  (It occurs much more frequently in people of Asian or Mediterranean decent.)  I have to confess that I figured Podunk, Midwest was not the most promising place to find a doctor who was super comfortable with thalassemia.  I was totally wrong.

Dr. O was wonderful.  His office was welcoming and incredibly kid-friendly.  The nurse who brought us into the office pointed out a huge pile of toys, stopped to chat with a young patient on an IV, and brought us drinks.  Dr. O told us that, due to a large Burmese population, he sees a new thalassemia consult about every two weeks.  Wow.

Li'l Dude's file seems to indicate that he has a less serious type of thalassemia (called thal minor or thal trait).  His lab tests looked pretty good (although they clearly seemed to indicate that he does have thalassemia).  Also, he is growing well: chugging right along at the 3rd percentile on the U.S. growth charts.  (Just FYI...Chinese kiddos have their own charts, and he'd rank a little higher on one of those.) 

If it is truly the case that Li'l Dude has thal minor/trait, he will meet with Dr. O once.  You read that right: once.  Other than his initial check-up, his thalassemia shouldn't affect his life at all.  (At least not until he considers having children, at which time there will be some genetic issues to consider.)

While we're excited to hear that Li'l Dude's medical records look good, we're definitely taking this information in stride.  We're well aware that his medical records could be incomplete or inaccurate.  There's a chance that he has thalassemia major and is receiving blood transfusions.  If this is the case, his lab tests might look good just because they were done after a transfusion.  Which leads us to more good news.

Dr. O's office is set up to handle pretty much everything Li'l Dude might possibly need.  If he needs transfusions, they'll do it there.  (In fact, there was a young lady with thalassemia receiving her transfusion while we were in the office.)  Dr. O is familiar with thalassemia and seemed up-to-speed on the current standards of care.  There's also a hematologist from a big name children's hospital who specializes in thalassemia who visits the office every six months to offer a comprehensive clinic.

In other words, Li'l Dude appears to be doing well.  And, if he ends up having thalassemia major, it looks like he's in good hands.

We <3 Dr. O. 

Oh, and did I mention that he saw us for free?